Zach Braff says bosses of the Emmy Awards "chose" to leave the late Nick Cordero out of the In Memoriam segment of the ceremony.
The Broadway star didn’t feature in the tribute segment of the 2020 Emmy Awards on Sunday (20.09.20) night, following his death in July which came after a battle with coronavirus that lasted nearly 100 days.
And now, his close friend and fellow actor Zach has claimed he and Nick’s widow Amanda Kloots "campaigned" to Emmys bosses to get Nick’s name included, but were unsuccessful.
He tweeted: "For those wondering: The Emmys chose to leave Nick Cordero out of the memorial montage. I had no idea one had to campaign to get their loved one in. We did. They passed."
Zach also shared a statement from Emmys bosses, in which they said they "cannot ensure any particular individual is included".
Their message read: "Those involved in the In Memoriam selection process are very aware of the sad passing of Mr. Cordero due to coronavirus and we assure her that his name has been given every consideration for inclusion. With so many people passing in any given year, we simply cannot ensure any particular individual is included, nor do we release the names of those included prior to the telecast."
Zach also blasted the awards ceremony for leaving out his ‘Scrubs’ co-star Sam Lloyd, who died earlier this year after suffering a brain tumour.
In a separate tweet, he added: "I should mention too, that they also left out Sam Lloyd. I would have never even considered ‘campaigning’ for Sam because he had more TV credits than most actors I know."
The In Memoriam segment also didn’t include basketball star Kobe Bryant – who died in a tragic helicopter crash in January – despite the the show being held in the Los Angeles Lakers’ home court.
However, the tribute – which featured a moving performance from H.E.R. – did honour the memory of Dame Diana Rigg, Chadwick Boseman, Naya Rivera, Carl Reiner, and others who passed away in 2020.